American clemency lessons

Most of us have seen videos showing the number of people from all across the US who sympathize with immigrants, and Muslims in particular, following the exclusionary policies implemented by the new administration. Many welcomed the arrival of Muslims at Los Angeles Airport, American women wearing the US flag as a head veil in New York, and there were countless other similar examples.

These things were not driven by institutions, and reflect how much an enormous segment of the US’ community has absorbed a culture of tolerance and clemency in a society open to immigrants from across the globe. This reflects a dynamic, vigorous group opposed to disfiguring its true identity, formed after long periods of struggle to establish a concept of peaceful co-existence. This is a model that ought to be followed in Muslim countries as they deal with non-Muslims.

Nevertheless, the National Assembly in Kuwait is preparing for a session to discuss the country’s demographic structure, following some wildly offensive comments directed at so-called ‘expatriates’. These people should actually be described as ‘partners’ in building Kuwait since independence. We hope that the issue will be handled reasonably, without an attempt to hide the problem’s true causes. Parliament includes many wise men capable of logically addressing the problem without the need for histrionics.

There is a variety of nationalities here that have provided expertise in various fields, both public and private. It is not their fault that our laws have not established a balance between the economy and their standard of living. There is, therefore, no need to use the ‘they harmed us’ argument in the discussion, because they did not simply sneak into Kuwait.

Off-topic note: None of the officials who talked about Kuwait’s vision for 2035 talked about the Jaber AlAhmed Cultural Center. What an implication!